Meta

Documentary Film ‘4.1 Miles’ Shows the Rescue of Refugees at Sea off the Greek Island of Lesbos

January 26, 2017

Documentary filmmaker Daphne Matziaraki followed a Greek Coast Guard Captain for 3 weeks as he and his team rescued refugees from the sea off the Greek Island of Lesbos, 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast. Her documentary short film was nominated for a 2017 Academy Award.

“When I returned home to Greece last fall to make a film about the refugee crisis, I discovered a situation I had never imagined possible. The turquoise sea that surrounds the beautiful Greek island of Lesbos, just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast, is these days a deadly gantlet, choked with terrified adults and small children on flimsy, dangerous boats. I had never seen people escaping war before, and neither had the island’s residents. I couldn’t believe there was no support for these families to safely escape whatever conflict had caused them to flee. The scene was haunting.”